You know that narrow line between horror and fascination, well mine was seriously tested witnessing an after-hours street race with a difference.

The contestants, two more than merry women, crouched alongside each other in the gutter before each released a stream of pee to see who could reach the drain first.

Now, I don’t consider myself prudish, or sexist, but the sight of a pair of young ladies dropping everything to urinate openly in the street was a first for me.

But, leaving aside this highly competitive public display (and I will reveal the winner later) it does raise a more serious point.

Skipping to the loo isn’t as easy these days with cash-strapped councils closing toilets and making it much more difficult to spend a penny. Public conveniences have been closing at an alarming rate, with 20% locking their doors in just five years. And, the number continues to rise year-on-year.

Councils are not legally required to provide public toilets, although they are legally required to provide other services, hence more loos are lost.

Now, I’m not suggesting dwindling facilities was the reason for the scene I witnessed – the thrill of the race created considerable excitement for both participants and spectators, so in this instance I don’t think a nearby public convenience would have been utilised.

'I don’t consider myself prudish, or sexist, but the sight of a pair of young ladies dropping everything to urinate openly in the street was a first for me...'

To the best of my knowledge, and experience, there is no specific UK law to cover urinating in public, though I know you can receive a penalty notice for disorder or be charged with outraging public decency. Worst case scenario, indecent exposure could land you in jail for up to two years – a hefty price to pay for spending a penny.

I seem to remember being told a man has a legal right to urinate in public, as long as it is against the rear offside wheel of his car and his right hand remains on the vehicle at all times. However, this may be pure urban myth, perhaps someone can let me know?

And, wasn’t there something about a pregnant woman having the right to wee in a policeman’s helmet? Not that you see many helmets these days.

But closing public toilets is a serious problem and no laughing matter. We’ve all wretched at the stench in underpasses and alleyways (try walking under the rail-line in central Faversham!) And the recent hot summer left residents horrified by the behaviour of caught-short beachgoers. If we want convenient conveniences we need to insist our councils take the issue seriously, rather than continuing to take the p****.

I nearly forgot, the winner was the lady dressed in the red spangly top – you can take the girl out of Rainham…

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